Comment from J H

I am a professor of public health at the University of Michigan. I currently have grant funding from the NIH working on issues of mental health and aging. I am concerned about section §200.300 — DEI and gender ideology prohibitions as well as §200.202 — Programs must align with administration priorities. Firstly, the scientific literature has well-documented evidence of health disparities by race, ethnicity, age, gender, and many other factors. If we are to truly make a healthier America, then we must be able to fund studies that actually measure those dimensions. Ignoring them and erasing them will continue lead to a more unequal America and the more unequal a society is, the worse its health outcomes are. Secondly, the scientific peer review process is a sacred process. Other experts who are trained to evaluate their colleagues' work allows for the NIH grant process to put forth rigorous and impactful research. Ignoring that process as merely advisory while giving ultimate decision-making power to political appointees will lead to ethically dubious and shoddy research. Science is about debate and iteration through systematic means. All the people that I employ would no longer be able to work if this kind of regulation passes. This regulation would halt the important grants that I work on to create a healthier America. I urge the OMB to not pass this rule.